The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Sutera plant, botanically known as Sutera cordata, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Everwhitexe2x80x99.
The new Sutera originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Devon Meadows, Victoria, Australia, of a proprietary Sutera seedling selection identified as JC 9604, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Sutera cultivar Snowflake, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent.
The new Sutera was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Devon Meadows, Victoria, Australia in November, 1997. The selection of this plant was based on its growth habit and large white-colored flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Devon Meadow, Victoria, Australia, since March, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Sutera are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Everwhite have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, and fertility level without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Everwhitexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Everwhitexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Cascading plant habit.
2. Rapid growth rate.
3. Freely branching habit.
4. Small dark green-colored flowers.
5. Large white-colored flowers.
6. Continuous flowering habit.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Devon Meadows, Victoria, Australia, plants of the new Sutera have smaller leaves and larger flowers than plants of the female parent, the selection BJ 3; and plants of the new Sutera have much larger flowers and smaller leaves, more open growth habit, are faster-growing, and are more freely flowering than plants of the male parent, the cultivar Snowflake.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Devon Meadows, Victoria, Australia, plants of the new Sutera are more compact, have smaller and smoother leaves, have larger flowers, and flower more continuously than plants of the cultivar Blizzard, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,966.